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Danke Lisa Wulff, Frank Chastenier, Adrian Hanack und Konrad Ullrich für diesen besonderen Abend vergangenen Freitag, was für ein großartiges Konzert!
Danke auch an alle Gäste die da waren und den Abend mit ihrer Energie so erst möglich gemacht haben!

Thank you Lisa Wulff, Frank Chastenier, Adrian Hanack and Konrad Ullrich for this special evening last Friday, what a great concert!
Thanks also to all the visitors who were there and made the evening possible by giving us so much energy!

@lisawulff_bass
@adrian_hanack
@konrad_ullrich
#frankchastenier

Bilder: Zbyszek Lewandowski /jazzzby.com


#jazzschmiede #livejazz #jazzconcert #jazzbass #jazzclub

April is going to be really nice at the Schmiede and to get you in the mood, there are some fine articles in the current @jazzthing_magazin and @jazzthetik
Look forward to the next three Fridays with us:
05.04. Constantin Krahmer Trio
12.04. hilde
19.04 Lisa Wulff Quartet

#jazzschmiede #düsseldorf #jazzmusic #livejazz #jazzclub #pianotrio #improvisation #öftermalinskonzertgehen

We are already looking forward to the final evening of this year's Young Jazz Talent Award on 26 April at the Schmiede.
These are the jazz singers nominated for the YOUNG JAZZ TALENT AWARD 2024:

Merle Böwering

What fascinates you most about music?
What fascinates me most about music is the interpersonal and musical exchange. It's always special for me to be on stage with fellow musicians, to react spontaneously to each other and to experience this sense of community. Songwriting is also very important to me. When composing and writing lyrics, I can express my thoughts and feelings and share them with others.
Which musician has influenced you personally the most so far?
Bon Iver (US folk band) is the band I've been listening to the longest and most consistently. The way Justin Vernon writes lyrics really excites and inspires me. I also find it exciting to observe how the band's sound has changed over the years. Ella Fitzgerald's singing was one of my first points of contact with jazz. Her phrasing and scat singing immediately touched and impressed me. In addition to Ella, the sound of Chet Baker and Esperanza Spalding also influenced me personally.
Which band/soloists have you always wanted to perform with?
I would love to be on stage with the Portuguese musician MARO. I particularly appreciate the way she writes melodies and her soulful and soft voice, which has a high recognition value.
What does your life outside of music look like?
Besides making music, teaching and going to concerts, I like to dance in my spare time. I used to dance a lot of ballet and hip hop and have now started again. It's a nice balance to my otherwise very music-focussed everyday life. It's a good way to work out and clear my head. I also enjoy going to the theatre or watching dance productions.

Anna Galchenko

My name is Anna, I'm 21 years old and I'm in my fifth semester of jazz singing at the Folkwang UdK in Essen. I am very grateful for the opportunity to take part in this year's Young Talent Jazz Award. I started classical piano lessons at the age of five and realised relatively quickly that I was more drawn to singing. I then started singing in a Ukrainian children's choir relatively quickly and then had private lessons at the age of 10. When I was about 13, I came across jazz and became enthusiastic about it. I started singing standards and of course transcribing Chet Baker. At the moment, I would say I orientate myself a lot on Norma Winstone and the modern jazz published by ECM. I try to compose in that direction, as well as incorporating classical, Latin American elements and vocalises, like in one of my favourite albums 'Aqui' by Tatjana Parra and Andres Beeuwsaert.
At the YTJA, I want to showcase the versatility of my music. It's important to me to sing compositions without lyrics and reach people with them. I find the effect of this very interesting, as the voice then acts as a non-verbal instrument and there is no need for language as a means of communication.
I'm really looking forward to the evening and am excited to meet the other participants.

What fascinates you most about music?
In general, I'm fascinated by the diversity and change in music. In jazz alone, there are so many different subcategories and genres, and it's all categorised as 'jazz'. I find it incredibly exciting how much music exists in the world, with its own facets and cultural differences, so that everyone can find themselves somewhere. For me, it's a phenomenon that can bring people together on an infinite number of levels.
Which musician has influenced you personally the most so far?
It's quite difficult for me to single out just one musician, as I'm influenced by so many musicians in so many different areas and genres. In classical music, I am particularly inspired by Chopin and I loved playing his works.
When I started singing jazz, I listened to and sang a lot of Chet Baker, Joni Mitchell, Carmen Mcrae and Thelonious Monk. Chet Baker's solos really shaped my language and improved my improvisation. Keith Jarrett is one of my favourite pianists and I try to incorporate elements of his playing into my compositions as much as I can.
Which band/soloists have you always wanted to perform with?
Again, there are many musicians that I admire and would love to play with. Kenny Wheeler's Large Ensemble is at the top of the list, as I currently listen to and sing a lot of contemporary jazz. I find every single composition from the album ''Music For Large And Small Ensembles'' unique and of course Norma Winstone's singing inspires and touches me a lot. I would also love to play with Richie Beirach as a duo as I am fascinated by his musical choices and I think I could learn so much from him.
What does your life outside of music look like?
My life largely consists of music, but I make an effort to find a balance in my everyday life. For example, I go to the gym regularly and I have a small dog. I'm also interested in psychology and political issues relating to feminism and racism.
I maintain friendships with various people inside and outside the jazz scene.

Sophia Hufschmidt

What fascinates you most about music?
That it can be so touching and that you can communicate through music in a way that goes beyond verbal communication.
Which musician has influenced you personally the most so far?
Stevie Wonder, Dianne Reeves and Milton Nascimento.
Which band/soloists have you always wanted to be on stage with?
I find it difficult to say specifically, but perhaps with Stevie Wonder or Al Jarreau.
What does your life outside of music look like?
My life has a lot to do with music, of course, but apart from that I enjoy spending time with friends, travelling and other cultural activities, such as going to museums or the theatre.

Eva Swiderski

What do you find particularly fascinating about music?
For me, music is an escape from everyday life, the dreariness, the world-weariness. At the same time, it is also a way of processing these feelings and giving listeners a chance to feel heard or less lonely.
Which musician has influenced you personally the most so far?
To this day, Bobby McFerrin remains an inexplicable phenomenon for me, his musicality, (self-)irony and lightness despite his insanely acrobatic singing fascinates me. Having played classical piano for a long time, I'm finding more and more pleasure in the fusion of classical harmony mixed with improvisation; it was probably similar to Bobby, who as a baby was already comfortably listening to his parents warbling operas under the grand piano and later came to jazz. I also feel connected to Brazilian music in a way. I find the way João Gilberto, João Bosco and Chico Buarque compose so beautifully delicate ... at the same time, the recordings radiate a warm, lively energy. And that despite the fact that most of the latter's music was about criticising the dictatorial regime of the time. Recently I've also been able to get a lot out of new music, be it Helmut Lachenmann, Rebecca Saunders or Lauren Newton or my friends Laura Totenhagen, etc. I'm constantly adding new things to my repertoire. New things are constantly being added and I think it's important to always keep an open mind for different genres.
Which band/soloists have you always wanted to perform with?
On tour as a backing singer for Shirin David.
What does your life outside of music look like?
I like going to the market and bargaining over every bunch of coriander, watching cookery videos, going for walks. Sometimes I watch films excessively, e.g. at the Berlinale, put acrylic blobs on a canvas or finally finish knitting my scarf. I almost forgot to mention that I'm a passionate Scrabble player! Add me on Wordfeud: @eversnidersbyhurchill).

Eva Swiderski (*2000) is a Berlin jazz singer, currently a student at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz (Prof. Anette von Eichel, Prof. Shannon Barnett) in Cologne. Coming from the classical piano, her path as a singer led her through several big bands, including the Landes Jugend Jazz Orchester Berlin, Bundes Jazz Orchester, Orchestre National de Jazz (FR). With her FLINTA* band called Ever Evolving, she played at the renowned Cologne Klaeng Festival, performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival and won the German Music Council's Future Music Competition in 2023 with her composition "Insomnia". As a scholarship holder of the Gutenberg Jazz Collective in Mainz, she got to know world-famous musicians (including Norma Winstone, Ben Wendel and Lionel Loueke) with whom she was able to share the stage. After being accepted into the German National Academic Foundation (2022), she was able to release her first singles and focus on political activism in addition to music, including organising a benefit festival for Ukraine at Cologne's "Odonien" in June 2022, co-organising the feminist concert series "La Citè des Dames" for gender equality at the HfMT Cologne and setting up a regular "FLINTA* Köln Musik" meeting with Catalina Valencia (diversity officer at the Jazzhausschule Köln). During her Erasmus semester (2024) at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, she met British singing legend Elaine Delmar and received lessons from Brigitte Beraha and Scott Stroman. She was also able to join the London Vocal Project (directed by Pete Churchill).

https://jazztalentaward.de/de/nominierte-2024

You'd be so nice to come home to – a one-minute glimpse into this great Cole Porter composition as played last Friday by the Thomas Siffling Quintet with their 'Remembering Chet' program. What a great evening with a sold-out Jazz-Schmiede and so many classic tunes!
We often play Chet Baker's legendary Riverside recording, 'Chet,' after our concerts, so it was a joy to listen to this interpretation. Musicians are Thomas Siffling (flügelhorn), Olaf Schönborn (As), Martin Sasse (p), Nico Brandenburg (b) and Patrick Manzecchi (dr).

#jazzschmiede #düsseldorf #aboutlastnight #livejazz #jazzclub #jazzconcert #trumpet #flugelhorn #chetbaker #coleporter

The "Jazz City Bilk" beckons at Whitsun

When it was announced last October that there would be no Jazz Rally this year, there was great horror: no invigorating music at Whitsun, no cheerful shuttling from pub to pub, no lively jazz in the city. That sounded like a difficult idea to bear. All those who feared that the once renowned title of "Jazz City Düsseldorf" could be forgotten were not prepared to accept this. Resistance to the development promptly arose, and the horror of the moment developed into a small jazz quake, the seething epicentre of which was clearly located in Bilk. There, a few stalwarts stamped their feet and said "now more than ever", which is why there will now be three days of invigorating music again at Whitsun. You can now move from location to location from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon after all - in the "Jazz City Bilk".

There are already three places in Bilk (where the initiative for the new project originated) where jazz regularly sets the tone: on Thursdays and Fridays at the Pure Note bistro on Brunnenstraße, on Saturdays at Aachener Platz and throughout the week at the Jazz Schmiede, where there is also an information board commemorating the "Jazz City Düsseldorf" exhibition. Peter Weiss once helped design this exhibition. As a nationally renowned drummer, he is a permanent fixture in Germany's jazz scene and, on the board of the "Jazz in Düsseldorf" association, is responsible for top-class culture in Bilk and for the city.

So it was only natural to entrust Peter Weiss with the artistic direction of "Jazz City Bilk" and thus ensure that the musical programme can be heard beyond the borders of Düsseldorf. "We want......", says Weiss.

As soon as word of the plans for the new project got around the district, the list of venues grew longer and longer. The list now includes not only the Jazz-Schmiede, Aachener Platz and Pure Note, but also the Metropol cinema, the Bürgersaal Bilk, the Bilker Bunker and the Bürgersaal Salzmannbau.

A lot of phone calls, emails and letters are now being sent in order to be able to present a complete programme as soon as possible. "We are working flat out to ensure that the programme not only satisfies jazz fans in the city, but perhaps also attracts one or two visitors from the surrounding area," says Pure Note Managing Director Marcel Clemens. The complete "Jazz City Bilk" programme should be ready by ??? at the latest.

The energy of the initiators and the sense of community created in the neighbourhood and beyond have also convinced District Council 3, which was asked for help quickly and has now promised start-up funding for this year at lightning speed. "We were convinced that....", says district mayor Dietmar Wolf.

The fact that so many people want to be part of the jazz party not only surprised the initiators, but also inspired them. The idea is already doing the rounds to present the small festival again next year and then perhaps make it a little bigger and possibly also include public spaces as venues. Further supporters and sponsors are sought and most welcome in the "Jazz City Bilk".

Bilk sings!
How great was that? The Schmiede was full of people and everyone wanted to sing together. Thank you for being there, we'll continue in autumn. Feel free to write in the comments which song should not be missing then!

#aboutlastnight #jazzschmiede #düsseldorf #bilk #bilksingt #chorcolores #chor #gemeinsamsingen

In this gripping live performance Re:Calamari play Pablo Held's composition "Don't crazy me". Musicians are Tineke Postma (sax, mellotron), Pablo Held (keys, synth), Oliver Lutz (el-b) and Peter Gall (dr)
・・・
Re: Calamari
Don't Crazy Me (P. Held)

00:00 Intro
01:19 Melody
02:00 Bass Solo
03:31 Sax Solo
05:48 Keys Solo
09:10 Melody

Fr 10. 11. 2023
Tineke Postma (sax), Pablo Held (keys, synth), Oliver Lutz (el-b), Peter Gall (dr)

https://oliverlutz.bandcamp.com/album/re-calamari-2
@olilutz

Recorded live at Jazz-Schmiede Düsseldorf
Recording&Video: Jazz-Schmiede Düsseldorf

#aboutlastnight – the @rokhsquartet last night at the Schmiede with Persian classical music and it just sounded so beautiful! Thank you for the music! WDR3 was there and recorded it, as soon as we have the broadcast date we will let you know here.
This year we have already been on musical journeys with our globalklang series to the American Appalachians, Finland and Iran. Save the date: on April 10th the journey continues and goes to [checks notes] BAVARIA, we are looking forward to new folk music with @maxjoseph_music.

#jazzschmiede #globalklang #worldmusic #klangkosmosnrw #soundjourneys #persianmusic #tar #oud #tombak #kamancheh

Bob Degen is a legend. Recently celebrating his 80th birthday, he graced the Schmiede with a musical celebration alongside some of his friends and musical companions. From that unforgettable night we present the performances of his two compositions 'In the Honour of Spring' and 'Parting'. Enjoy the beautiful music of Bob Degen (p), Matthias Nadolny (ts), Christian Ramond (b) und Peter Weiss (dr)

・・・

Degen / Nadolny / Ramond / Weiss
In the Honour of Spring (comp. B. Degen)
Parting (comp. B. Degen)

Fr 02. 02. 2024

Bob Degen (p), Matthias Nadolny (ts), Christian Ramond (b), Peter Weiss (dr)

00:00 In the Honour of Spring Piano Intro
02:45 Sax joins in
05:45 Parting Bass Solo / Intro
07:36 Parting Theme
08:40 Sax Solo
11:40 Piano Solo
13:51 Drums!
15:11 Parting Last Theme

Recorded live at Jazz-Schmiede Düsseldorf
Recording&Video: Jazz-Schmiede Düsseldorf

Ben Miller Trio performing the Element of Crime tune "Am Ende denk ich immer nur an dich" live in Sept 2023. Musicians are Benedikt Müller (git), Marius Lamm (dr) and Moritz Götzen (b)

・・・

Ben Miller Trio
Am Ende denk ich immer nur an dich

Sa 30. 09. 2023
Benedikt Müller (git), Marius Lamm (dr), Moritz Götzen (b)

https://www.instagram.com/benmiller.guitar

Recorded live at Jazz-Schmiede Düsseldorf
Recording&Video: Jazz-Schmiede Düsseldorf